Before our eyes, a tide of hatred, violence, and suspicion is rising in America. Just a few months ago, Donald Trump took his hate a step further and called on the U.S. to ban all Muslims—including U.S. citizens who may be traveling abroad—from entering the country. These are not the statements of an isolated demagogue, but the Republican presidential nominee. The United States was founded in part on the core belief that all people should have the freedom to practice their religion. If we don't stop this now—if we don't stand with our Muslim friends and neighbors—then we will be tacitly supporting this new and dangerous wave of hatred and xenophobia. In similarly dire times in the past, Americans have stood together in solidarity—both symbolically and in actual gatherings to show that we will not be divided. We will let members of the media know the number of Americans who are ready and able to resist hateful fearmongering in order to change the current narrative driven by Trump and other demagogues. Then, with a host of partners, we'll begin to organize actions all across the country that demonstrate what Americans really believe and continue a steady drumbeat of solidarity to back up our words. We are a nation at a crossroads. The paths before us are clear: we can choose to be divided by hatred, or we can continue to build a just, inclusive, and safe country, together.

UPDATE: The Legislature passed Senate Bill 13 late at night on December 16th, and it is on its way to Governor Snyder. Tell Gov. Snyder to veto it today: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/gov-snyder-protect-michigan This idea has been proposed before in Michigan and rejected by a vote of the people. This time, they've added an appropriation so it can't be overturned at the ballot box. The bill has passed the Senate and the House, but the versions are slightly different so this is not yet done. Please take a moment to let your legislator know that you are watching, and want them to work on solutions that will help people to vote (such as no reason absentee, early voting, same day registration), NOT disenfranchise Michigan voters. More about the bill: http://michiganradio.org/post/local-clerks-blast-bill-eliminate-straight-ticket-voting-michigan

Children are not getting the education they need. The information they obtain in the classroom from teachers and textbooks is only half of the learning spectrum. The other half is experience and the way students get this is from participating in field trips. In the U.S. however, school field trips are in a decline that is as bad as 40-60%. There are organizations and programs in place now that are offered from the private sector to stop this decline, but they cannot meet the demand that they need to. These programs can allocate only so much money and it is not enough for all the schools in the nation that are being hurt in this situation. The U.S. government needs to implement a policy that will keep field trips in the curriculum for students, and also will create a team that is dedicated to finding out ways to make field trips live up to their full potential so that the students can benefit in the greatest way possible from them. By creating this team and having them in place it will ensure that the bill passed forth will stay on track even into the local sector, and will also research new ways for students to obtain the experiential learning they require. Having this program in place will greatly heighten children’s education because of the field trips that they will be experiencing.

I am a teacher educator. My students spend four years preparing to be teachers, including spending three years in k-12 schools, hands-on learning how to work with kids. They learn curriculum, methods, learning sciences, motivation, multicultural education, how to work with students with disabilities, and many other skills necessary to prepare America's children for the world they'll live in. The Every Student Succeeds Act (to replace No Child Left Behind) includes provisions for the establishment of nationwide 'Teacher Preparation Academies'--fast tracks to teacher licenses that leave out almost every essential aspect of teacher education. These academies are run by corporations. They don't take into consideration the needs of the particular areas where they are established. Their only purpose is to instruct teachers to "teach to the test." Worst of all, the ESSA requires states to consider these 'teacher factories' the equivalent of Master's degrees! States are no longer allowed to decide what is best for their teachers. The Washington Post's Valerie Strauss explains just how this law works to undermine university programs in her recent blog (1). This is Teach for America on steroids--placing unqualified teachers with no experience and little training in the poorest of our nation's schools. However, because these academies will be funded by the government and venture philanthropists, they present a grave threat to university programs, whose budgets are being cut every day. The ESSA has already passed the House. We need to tell the U.S. Senate not to pass the ESSA with this provision in place. Please sign, and call your senators! 1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/12/05/the-disturbing-provisions-about-teacher-preparation-in-no-child-left-behind-rewrite/

Many spouses and dependents of disabled veterans rated 30% and higher must give extra care to their veterans due to physical and or mental handicaps. Spousal and dependents' stipends paid to disabled veterans need to be increased to a higher percentage of spousal-dependents' stipend amount. I am sure that I along with many other disabled veterans believe our spouses and dependents deserve more for their loyalty and dedication to care for us veterans.

Gun ownership should be subject to sensible regulation. President Obama recently called on Congress to pass legislation preventing someone who is on a "no-fly" list from being able to purchase a firearm. He also called for stricter regulations for assault weapons. These common sense proposals for gun ownership make sense.

With anti-Muslim bigotry and fear-mongering on the rise, politicians across the country have been rushing to block Syrian refugees from settling in the United States. And now organizations that help refugees are under attack. Catholic Charities in Indianapolis had courageously committed to help resettle a Syrian refugee family -- but now the governor is publicly pressuring the local archbishop to back down. Archbishop Joseph Tobin met privately with Governor Mike Pence this week and left saying he would give the governor's request "serious consideration." If Archbishop Tobin is forced to give in to xenophobia, it could unleash a tsunami of political pressure to stop helping refugee families who desperately need our compassion. We need to make sure he stays strong.

April 8th, 2015, Al Shabaab terrorist group stormed the Garissa University in Kenya, Africa and killed 147 innocent students. Please sign the petition to rename that university from Garissa University to Garissa Memorial university as an honour to those who died and as a reminder to the future generation of what had happened.

As the former Congressman from Newtown, Connecticut, I understand how important the thoughts and prayers of a nation can be for a grieving community. But right now, we also need action — to change our gun laws so that fewer of these shootings happen. Too many of my colleagues are covering over their cowardice and their fealty to the gun lobby by tweeting out sympathies. Here's the truth: if Congress won't do anything to try to stop the soul-crushing, life-extinguishing gun violence epidemic in this country, then we might as well just pack up and go home. Our collective silence in the face of these mass shootings is complicity, and it sends a quiet message that we are willing to accept these murders. It is time for action.

Tell Nigeria to stop detaining and release our leader and let us be... we have suffered a lot of marginalization in the hands of the northerners. We want freedom and freedom we must get.. we are calling on the UN and corporate bodies to come to our aid... we want freedom!!!!!!!

“The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby’s development.” Early Childhood professionals help support infants early brain development, encourage young children as they build their social and emotional skills, and help preschoolers enhance their language and literacy development. But yet preschool teachers are being underpaid. These are the committed women and men who day in, and day out devote themselves to educating and nurturing our own children toward a bright future:now it's our turn to stand behind them. Our children deserve the best: quality teachers that prepare them for success. Our teachers should be respected, appreciated, and appropriately paid. We need to keep our teachers here by treating them fairly.

CLEAN, HONEST GOVERNMENT REQUIRES A STRONG CIVIL SERVICE! ......SB 285 Deals a Death Blow to Clean, Honest Civil Service!...... Wisconsin's nationally-recognized civil service system is on the chopping block because Republican leaders are using lies and deceptions to say the system is failing. It is NOT failing. Here are some of the lies and deceptions they are using: LIE: Civil service law makes it too hard to hire and fire state employees. An agency had to conduct almost 800 interviews to fill 31 positions. It takes more than six months to hire someone. TRUTH: Managers have all the tools they need. Nothing in current law specifies how many to interview or how long it should take to hire, and neither does the new bill. Wisconsin’s civil servants do good work. In the few cases where discipline is needed, the current system works. LIE: SB 285 does not change merit hiring. TRUTH: This bill takes a wrecking ball to merit hiring by eliminating objective civil service exams and using a subjective resume-based system that experts say is not the way to hire the best people, and is open to bias. This bill makes DOA and its Political Appointees far more central to all hiring decisions. As a result, underqualified cronies will fill public agencies. LIE: SB 285 does not remove Civil Service protections nor Just Cause, and does not make state employees at-will employees. TRUTH: The loss of an objective method for layoffs will make it easier for politicians to get rid of state employees who give their professional opinions rather than twist the facts. This bill makes it easier to discipline or fire whistleblowers with no investigation, no progressive discipline, and no need to follow established “just cause” standard in many cases. The bill adds confusing wording that may require litigation to determine if state employees are made at-will. Limited Term and Project employees may keep their jobs while permanent employees in the same job class are laid off. LIE: The new bill will make state agencies work better and deliver better services to the citizens. TRUTH: This Administration is using swift, stealth attacks to install cronyism, and a patronage system to serve the politicians in power. Public Services will decline at taxpayer expense. Contact your Wisconsin State legislator to ask them to oppose SB 285!